In the world of monster hunters, true, undying love rarely blooms, and yet, in the village of Yukumo, love is blossoming between two hunters. Garret, a 28 year old high ranked guild hunter, and Selene, a skilled Longsword user of 27 years. The moment these two hunters met, both of which spending their free time in the guild hall with friends, a spark, rather, a connection, passed between them.
After getting to know one another, the seed of love had been planted, and quickly, it germinated. Both hunters went on quest after quest together, sometimes with friends, but most of the time, just the two of them.
7 months after the two hunters met, on the night of a full moon when they were on a quest, Garret proposed.
And Selene accepted.
As the two hunters are well known throughout the village and towns beyond, Their wedding was attended with both hunting mates and guild officials, to the many people who owed their lives to them. Their wedding celebrations went on for a full week before things died down, allowing the newly wedded couples to settle in to their new home, which was constructed near the steps that leads up to Yukumo village guild, they may be married, but they still are hunters after all.
Selene was soon Pregnant and she gave birth to a healthy son, which both she and her husband Named Svenixes, or just 'Sven'
Little Sven was just four years old when news arrived of a Jinouga rampaging near a town. Selene offered to help, and while reluctant, asked Garret to stay at home and watch over their son.
At first, Garret was reluctant, saying that he should go with her, but, after her insistence he finally relented.
Upon the morning of a new day, Selene kissed both her husband and son goodbyes and set off towards the designated area along with three of her close friends.
Little does Garret know, that will be the last time he shall see his wife.
Four days after Selene has set out to be rid of the Troublesome Jinouga, Garret was in their house's living room, playing with the five month old Svenixes when a knock on the door was heard. Garret gently lay Sven on the floor and walks across the living room. He open's the door to be greeted by one of his old time best friend and partner,
Jeven, but from the expression on his face, it told Garret that something bad had happened.
"Hey Jeven, how's it going?" Garret greeted, only to be responded by a look he will never forget.
"God Garret, I'm sorry, I have news about... Selene" sadness was apparent in his voice.
Garret's heart stopped for a second.
"What's the matter? what's wrong?" his voice was frantic as dread not even the fiercest monster could ever hope to inspire washes all over him.
"I think its best that you... go to the village medicine woman"
Fear and panic threatened to overwhelm Garret as he took a long, deep breath before exhaling and looking at his friend Straight in the eyes.
"Look after Sven will you?"
Jeven nod his head and quickly, Garret sprinted towards the medicine woman's hut that was just a few houses across from his.
A large crowed was formed at the entrance, and when they saw Garret approaching, they back away to give space. He slowed until he was at the front and slowly, with a trembling hand, pushed it open.
Inside the living room, which was a modest size, the medicine woman, a wizened old woman with white hair that was reaching her mid body and adorned in her usual white robes, was standing near a bed, where something was covered in a white cloth.
Near the medicine woman, two of Selene's friends, the ones who had accompanied her, was standing near the cloth covered figure, And all of them have an array of severe injuries, and they look as if they were barely able to stand.
With a nod from the medicine woman, the third of Selene's friends close the door behind him, only the windows provide illumination to the room.
Intense silence fell upon the room for a few seconds before Garret broke it.
"What happened? where's my wife?" he asked, getting a sick feeling rising from his stomach.
One of Selene's friend, June, with one of her arms heavily bandage and some burnt marks on her face, replied in a way that made Garret's blood run cold.
"I'm sorry Garret, but she had passed away"
In that moment, Garret's entire world seems to spin, but he manage to caught himself before it took over.
"where is she?" he said, trying to muster whatever will he had. All in the room look towards the cloth covered figure.
With a few strides, he reach the figure and gently removed the whole cloth, and that nearly sends him over the edge.
Selene's face was that of calm, but her body was covered in injuries, and out of all of them, a large, jagged hole was on her abdomen, the likely caused of her death.
Garret stared long and hard at her before his knees weakened, they buckled and he finally went down on his knees and lets out a loud scream of anguish.
At that same day, Selene was laid to rest in a grave that was especially for hunters, that was on top of a hill a few meters away from Yukumo village, where heroes of centuries past was laid to rest, and now, Selene joins them in their slumber.
Garret's sadness soon turns to anger when he got word of Selene's killer still on the loose, and so, alone, he went after the beast, at the shock of his friends. After three days with no word, the guild located in Yukumo sent a search party,
hoping to find him.
After two days of following his trails in the mountain stream area, the search party finally found him. He was resting near the body of a Large Jinouga, his body was covered from head to toe in wounds and his Narga s armor was hanging off its hinges, but his wife's killer lies dead.
It took a few weeks for Garret to fully recover, and after that, he devoted nearly all his time raising his child,
and unsurprisingly, his child wanted to become a hunter, just like his dad. Despite the aching loss in his heart,
Garret still try to live his life to the fullest, occasionally visiting his wife's grave, and he was typically accompanied by his son.
But his life of peace was soon shattered when news of a Deviljho wreaking havoc to another village close to Yukumo, and even more pressing news as it was spotted heading towards Yukumo.
With all the other experienced hunters out on their own quest, Garret volunteered, along with his friends, to stop its advance. One of his friends had volunteered to watch over Sven, who was 9 years old, until he returned.
The path of the monster was easily predicted and soon, Garret and his companions had set an ambushed. Once the Deviljho was within range, They strike.
The sound of a titanic battle echoes throughout the mountain streams area as four hunters went up against a powerful brute wyvern, the Deviljho.
"Godammit! the thing isn't even backing off!" Jeven yelled as he desperately loads another round to his heavy bowgun,
the aquamatic 'firelash'
"Hold it together! don't give it and inch!" Garret yelled, jumping away to avoid a brutal tail swipe.
"Take this bastard!" Rodge, one of Garret's close friends yell, stabbing his Gyrelance into Deviljho's side and igniting the round that was contained within the gunlance. The beast roared in pain before hitting him away with a crushing kick.
He landed nearby and didn't move.
"Shit!" Garret swore, just as the Deviljho's back muscle inflates, revealing scars, before it gave out a loud roar that shook the entire forest.
"Damn, he is pissed off!" Jeven remark, fear was apparent in his voice as he quickly loading whatever ammo he has left. Garret was quiet as his mind raced. Rodge is down, James, a sword and shield user, was already sent back to camp, and now it was up to him and Jeven to take down a raging giant, the odds are really stacked up against them.
With a yell, Garret charged forwards towards the brute as Javen rain down shots at the brute, but that did little to stop it from meeting Garret's charge. The brute Snap its huge maw towards Garret, who manages to roll to the side before he brings his weapon, the Carbalite sword, upwards towards Deviljho's jaw.
The sword struck the beast and it roared before smashing Garret with the side of its skull, all with the force of a dozen Bullfango charge at once. The impact sent him flying through the air before landing painfully a few meters away.
The beast then turns its attention towards Jeven, who saw this and pulled the trigger on his bowgun, only to find that it was jammed.
"Shit!" he yelled, abandoning the bowgun just as Deviljho was upon him, swiping its tail and snapping at him with its jaws. Jeven manage to dodge a few of its attacks when its tail seemingly comes flying out of nowhere and hits him square on the chest. The violent impact sends him flying a few feet in the air before crashing against a large tree before landing on the ground with a harsh Thump.
The beast then Roared in its triumph, but the it detected movement. It turns its large head around to face the hunter it had previously smashed with its head standing a few meters away, Great sword held in a ready stance.
"Hey! it ain't over till its over you son of a bitch!" garret yelled, blood streaming down from a wound on his head while every part of his body ache, but the thought of this creature reaching Yukumo village, where his son was gave him strength. The beast roared and charge straight at him, maw wide open ready to engulf him. Just as the beast thrust its head forward, Garret steps aside and spins around, the wide open maw missing him by inches while his great sword was swung around and imbedded itself at the side of Deviljho's jaw. he barely manage to pull it out when the brute rears its head back in pain.
With that, Garret engages the brute in a tight melee combat, ducking and dodging from its attacks while countering them with his own. It went on like that for a long period of time, but even an experienced hunter as him was soon overcome with fatigue and that was when he made a fatal mistake.
Garret just barely manage to dodge another vicious tail swipe when his left foot stumbled and he barely manage to regain his balance. The beast was quick to exploit the opening. with a vicious snap, the Deviljho caught Garrets whole left arm into its jaws. He screamed in pain and horror as fangs rip through his armor and into his flesh. he was lifted up to the air and was tossed about like a rag doll.
Fighting through the pain, Garret quickly reaches for his only weapon: his hunting knife. With grit determination,
he grip the blade's handle and repeatedly thrust it into the Beast's soft chin. The brute wyvern, surprised by the sudden pain, snaps it's head to the side, the force strong enough that it severed Garrets arm and he was again sent flying through the air and painfully landing on his side against the hard forest floor.
Blood flowed profusely from where Garret's left arm should have been as he gritted his teeth, to the point where even his gums begins to bleed. Through his slowly fading vision, he saw the Deviljho flailing its head around as his knife was still stuck to its chin. We a grunt, slowly start to get back up, the vision of his son back in Yukumo village flashing in his mind, as that was his sole driving force.
The Brute was finally able to be rid of the knife just as Garret, with his one remaining arm, grip the handle of his great sword, determination gleaming from his eyes as every passing second, his strength was ebbing away.
With a yell, Garret charges towards the beast head on, and the brute charge as well towards him, the earth shaking with each of its steps. The Deviljho lunges forwards with an open maw, and garret leap as hard as he could onto the air and swung the great sword as hard as he could. The blow connected and the force of the impact was hard enough that a deep wound was carved into its chin and the great beast lost its balance, just as Garret crash against the ground, sliding a few feet before finally coming to a halt.
By the time reinforcement was sent, they discovered the battle ground, the Deviljho survived, but it had already made a hasty retreat, leaving nothing but trails of blood in its wake. Three of the hunters sent to stop the Deviljho's advance survived,
but one of them, Garret, was dying.
He laid there upon the bed of the medicine woman's hut, he could feel it, his life was slowly ebbing away as his time was nearly upon him. The door burst open as Garret's only son, Sven, rushes towards his dying father, Jeven keeping his distance as he close the door.
"Papa! Papa please don't go!" Sven cried as he grip his father's remaining left arm.
"Hush now pup, don't be sad" Garret whispered, using his left arm to wrap around sven's small body, trying to comfort him.
"Is there really no other way to help him?" Jeven asked the medicine woman as he tries to rein in his emotion.
"I have done my best" was all she replied in a quiet voice.
Garret unwrap his arm from Sven and took hold of one of his small hands.
"Listen to me pup, I may soon be gone from this world, but you must stay strong, Don't give up on your dreams to become a hunter and live your life to the fullest" he rasped as he cough out a wad of blood, which splattered on the side of the bed near Sven, but he didn't even flinch as he nod his head quickly.
"You are my living legacy, my blood, as well as your mother's flows in you, never forget that" his grip slowly starts to lose strength as his world begins to darkened.
"Never...give...up...hope..no matter...what the...odds..."
And with that, Garret, one of the guild's top hunters, loving father and husband, breath out his last breath
"Papa? Papa please wake up! wake up Papa please!" Sven cried, shaking his father's body in vain attempt that he would somehow miraculously wake up, but it was never meant to be...
At that day, with the clouds mirroring the entire village's moods, Garret was buried beside his wife. as every one left, only garrets closes friends remain, their expressions somber and their minds blank. The heavens soon shed its own tears.
Sven and Garret's close friends remained behind, they all stare unblinking at the grave that marked the last place where Garret Orixa and his wife Selene was laid to rest. All of them were soaked to the bone as tears again starts to flow from the corner of Sven's eyes and upon his cheek, mixing with the rain. His fist clenched tightly as sadness flows through him like a vast torrent.
The seed of vengeance has been sowed, and soon, it will germinate, and when that happens, the whole land will know who he is...